Hosea 2

Hosea 2Contemporary English Version (CEV)

2 1 So let your brothers be called “My People” and your sisters be called “Shown Mercy.”[a]

The Lord Promises To Punish Israel

2 Accuse! Accuse your mother!She is no longer my wife,and now I, the Lord,am not her husband.Beg her to give up prostitutionand stop being unfaithful,[b]3 or I will strip her nakedlike the day she was born.I will make her barrenlike a desert,and she will die of thirst.4 You children are the resultof her unfaithfulness,and I’ll show you no pity.5 Your mother was unfaithful.She was disgraceful and said,“I’ll run after my lovers.Everything comes from them—my food and drink,my linen and wool,my olive oil and wine.”

6 I, the Lord, will builda fence of thornsto block her path.7 She will run after her lovers,but not catch them;she will search,but not find them.Then she will say, “I’ll returnto my first husband.Life was better then.”8 She didn’t know that her grain,wine, and olive oilwere gifts from me,as were the gold and silvershe used in worshiping Baal.[c]

9 So I’ll hold back the harvestof grain and grapes.I’ll take backmy wool and my linenthat cover her body.10 Then I’ll strip her nakedin the sight of her lovers.[d]No one can rescue her.

11 I’ll stop Israel’s celebrations—no more New Moon Festivals,Sabbaths, or other feasts.12 She said, “My lovers gave mevineyards and fig treesas payment[e] for sex.”

Now I, the Lord, will ruinher vineyards and fig trees;they will become clumps of weedseaten by wild animals.

13 I’ll punish her for the daysshe worshiped Baaland burned incense to him.I’ll punish her for the timesshe forgot about meand wore jewelry and ringsto attract her lovers.I, the Lord, have spoken!

The Lord Will Help Israel

14 Israel, I, the Lord,will lure you into the desertand speak gently to you.15 I will return your vineyards,and then Trouble Valley[f]will become Hopeful Valley.You will say “Yes” to meas you did in your youth,when leaving Egypt.

16 I promise that from that day on, you will call me your husband instead of your master.[g]17 I will no longer even let you mention the names of those pagan gods that you called “Master.” 18 And I will agree to let you live in peace—you will no longer be attacked by wild animals and birds or by weapons of war. 19 I will accept you as my wife forever, and instead of a bride price[h] I will give you justice, fairness, love, kindness, 20 and faithfulness. Then you will truly know who I am.

21 I will command the sky to send rain on the earth, 22 and it will produce grain, grapes, and olives in Jezreel Valley. 23 I will scatter the seeds and show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah.[i] I will say to Lo-Ammi,[j] “You are my people,” and they will answer, “You are our God.”

2.10I’ll strip. . . lovers: Or “I’ll show her lovers how disgusting she is.”

2.12fig trees. . . payment: Hosea uses an unusual word for “fig tree,” which is spelled something like the word for “payment.”

2.15Trouble Valley: Or “Achor Valley.” The exact location of the valley is unknown, but in Hebrew “Achor” sounds like “Achan,” who brought trouble on Israel by disobeying the Lord (see Joshua 7.24-26).

2.16husband. . . master: In Hebrew the word “master” is the same as the name of the god Baal. But the Lord promises that his people will have a deep personal relationship with him (like a devoted wife and husband) rather than merely a legal tie (like a wife and her “master”).

2.19bride price: It was the custom for the husband to pay his wife’s parents a bride price. Instead of money, the Lord will give much better benefits to Israel.

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